


Alone

by america_chavez



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Based off of Haruhana & Be Proud, Established Relationship, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, there's a little surprise at the end hehe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-18 03:55:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20632679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/america_chavez/pseuds/america_chavez
Summary: Once upon a time, there had been a boy who shut his heart to the concept of love and acceptance. After taking on his father's burdens and having his band fail, he had no choice but to join an idol group. He had never known that taking that step would lead him to find the one who would open his heart again.





	Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Can you believe I've been in this fandom for over two years already and this is my first fanfic for it?! Not to mention, I'm the organizer for the fandom's flashbang. Wild.
> 
> Anyway, please be kind to me. The reason I never wrote for Utapri was because I was terrified to write for something with so much lore and fear fucking up their characterization. Also, I got tired of the tag being dry so I decided to make my own content.
> 
> Big thanks to Lily who helped me by being my beta for this. God bless u.
> 
> Please enjoy! I listened to Be Proud exactly 25 times while writing this. If you've never watched Tattsun perform the song at 6th live or QN's 2nd live, do yourself a favor and do it. Incredibly powerful.

The weight against his chest is calming. He can feel his partner breathe; in and out, his slow puffs audible in the otherwise silent room. He’s warm and content. A first in many years.

He often wondered if there would ever come a being that he could finally share a connection with, aside from their fans. Now, he knows there’s at least one person who cares in a way that no other can. The hand squeezing his own is proof of that. He lets himself be engulfed by his partner’s warmth as he looks back at how they ended up where they are.

\---

The creation of Quartet Night had been as messy as the members imply. Four idols with four different backgrounds and four different lifestyles, Frankenstein-d together for the viewing pleasure of their agency’s president. Despite being unfamiliar with each other and their constant clashing, their talents blended well. They weren’t meant to be a permanent group, Ai had been sure of that, but as their leading member insisted, their fates were sealed. Ai had nowhere else to go, and neither did the other two opposing members. And so, Reiji celebrated. Ai took notice of his member’s expressions, curiosity piqued when Ranmaru tried his best to look indifferent while the brightness in his eyes gave away his excitement.

They continued their group work: magazine photoshoots, radio shows and interviews, commercial and movie filming, anything that could continue to show the country and the world that Quartet Night was not only serious, but ready for whatever was thrown at them. None of them, with the exception of Reiji, tried to get particularly close to the other members. They were, "colleagues, not friends" as explained by Camus on more than one occasion. Ai agreed, working well together did not correlate to being friends. They continued their solos and duets, spending professional time with one another, but no more than that.

For their second duet series, Ai and Ranmaru had been paired up together. Ranmaru tried to recall a time when he had worked alone with Ai but failed to come up with any. They had never been assigned to work with one another on any other projects. Because of this, he felt anxious. He knew how to handle himself with Reiji and Camus after being paired with them numerous times, but never being alone in a room with Ai. He had no idea how to react around the man. Reiji and Camus constantly let the group know what they felt, but Ai never really spoke unless he felt it necessary to do so. Ranmaru never knew what he was thinking, and, on some level, it disturbed him.

Despite his fears, composing with Ai was the most relaxing collaboration he’d ever dealt with. Ranmaru and Ai got along well; Ai’s dry sense of humor pulled more smiles and laughs out of Ranmaru than he thought was possible. Ai made it his goal to get him to laugh a minimum of twice a day whenever they shared the meeting room. It was around this time when their meetings stretched into lunches, and lunches stretched to dinners late into the night. Ranmaru was content spending time with Ai. His smiles became less forced and he seemed lighter than he had when they had first debuted together. Sharing laughs and smiles with the quiet cryptid hadn’t been planned, but they got along well enough that Ranmaru had managed to relax with him.

Nothing was ever planned when they got together to discuss their duet: Not their jokes, their lunches or even their dinners. But especially not falling in love with one another. That had most definitely not been planned.

\---

For Ranmaru, it had happened in their shared apartment. Long after their duet had been written and recorded, Ai would continue to pop into his bedroom, usually when Ranmaru was practicing on the bass. Ai would sit there for as long as Ranmaru was practicing. At first it was jarring having the man sit in silence and observe him, but after numerous visits, he eventually relaxed and would play based off the mood that Ai gave him. He would occasionally try to play one of Ai’s solo songs, earning him a glare on more than one occasion. The visits only stopped once they had been tasked to write the lyrics for their respective solos. Ai managed to finish his almost as quickly as he had gotten it, but Ranmaru was having trouble with his. He played the demo for Ai in order to gauge his opinion, but he was just as clueless about what the song wanted to evoke.

A few nights later, when Ai had resumed his late-night visits, Ranmaru kept playing his solo on loop while working on his lyrics.

“Have you tried playing it on your bass?” Ai suggested, after seeing Ranmaru crumble up yet another sheet of notebook paper. “Maybe listening it on your own instrument will give you an idea.”

“Got nothing to lose.” He replied, picking up his bass and tuning it.

Sure enough, the first few notes of the song evoked feelings of regret, despair and torment. The arrangement in his head had been completely different from what was written on his music sheet, but that didn’t stop him from continuing the song. He felt his chest tighten, a feeling he’d become accustomed to while in the presence of Ai, but it wasn’t now until he could finally give that feeling a proper name.

Wrapped up in the fun of their quiet times, Ranmaru had fallen in love. But knowing that Ai would never feel the same way about him made him feel angry. A hot, white burning anger coursed through his veins at how much of a fool he was for falling in love. He had been abandoned so often that he had made peace with the idea that someone like him deserved to be alone. But since joining Quartet Night, there was never a chance for him to be alone. Even when forced to live with Masato and Ren, he had never had a moment of solitude. In their shared apartment, even now, Ai sits with him, watching him play a piece of his heart. 

Ai’s kindness had touched him. A ray of light in the dark room he had locked his feelings in. While he had ignored the possibility of there ever being more, he knew deep down that his heart would always desire someone to make a connection with. The connection that he shares with Ai is a near perfect fit. They understand each other. There was never a need to carry out a conversation with Ai. Their love for music is mutual and something they’ve both worked endlessly to be where they are now. Ranmaru realizes that maybe it was fate that his other group failed. Maybe this is where he's supposed to be.

Maybe this love wasn’t meant to be. But at least Ranmaru knew what his song meant to him now. He’d convey this sea of emotions in the only way he knew how – through his music.

\---

For Ai, it had been that moment. Watching Ranmaru play his bass, discovering the emotion that his solo wanted to evoke. The heat and passion in Ranmaru was apparent in the way his fingers knew exactly where to go to pull that deep emotion within anyone in the room. Of course, he had never meant for it to happen, but Ai wouldn’t regret this feeling. Getting to see Ranmaru reach the goal that he thought was unreachable made Ai feel proud. But the sounds that echoed in the room where much more than just figuring out what he wanted the song to mean. What Ai saw was more than that. He was watching Ranmaru speak to him, in a language that only he could understand.

When Ranmaru had finished, he felt his chest lighten if only a very small amount. Keenly aware of the other male’s gaze, he shuffled some of his papers around to busy himself, but he knew he’d have to look up at Ai at some point. When he finally did, he was met with a small smile. It meant the entire world to Ranmaru, but he couldn’t let Ai know that.

“What are ya smiling about, huh?”

Ai’s smile softened. The sight of it leaving a small ache in Ranmaru’s chest. Ai stood up from his spot and crossed the room to where Ranmaru sat on his bed. Ranmaru stood up himself, facing Ai. If he had blinked, he would have missed it. A quick press of lips against him, warm and soft. The smile lingering on Ai’s face as he whispered into his ear, “You don’t have to be alone anymore.” 

\---

That had been over two years ago. Now, they lay together on the couch. Holding one another, as snowflakes decorate their balcony outside their new apartment. The bitter cold from outside those glass doors can’t touch them, and the warmth between them overpowering any other feeling around them. The TV lights glisten off their newly exchanged rings. They are no longer alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos would be appreciated!


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